Drivers Just Shrug At Indy Trial Rainout

May 14, 1989|By Cooper Rollow, Chicago Tribune.

INDIANAPOLIS — Into each life some rain must fall. But did it have to come on Indy pole day?

Saturday`s scheduled opening qualifying day for the May 28 Indy 500 was postponed by a daylong rain, disappointing thousands of fans who had gathered at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in anticipation of the annual run for the prestigious pole.

The hottest field in Indy history will try again Sunday, when the green flag presumably will wave over the first qualifier at noon. The weather forecast is for partly cloudy skies and a temperature in the high 60s.

Fans who huddled glumly under umbrellas and inside vehicles in the Indy infield were unhappy when the track was closed officially at 2:45 p.m. The sun had broken through 15 minutes earlier, but ominous clouds lurked on the horizon, and the new asphalt track was saturated.

Drivers accepted the rain delay philosophically, and some even found silver linings.

``It might have been a blessing. It gave us a chance to put in a new engine,`` said Teo Fabi, whose best practice speed in his March Porsche was 219.244 miles an hour.

``I`m not feeling as much pressure here as I was last year,`` Fabi said,

``because I know I don`t have a chance for the pole anyway.``

Defending Indy champion Rick Mears, who turned the fastest unofficial lap in Speedway history Friday at 226.231 m.p.h., was typically stoical and good- humored when the rainout was announced.

``It`s a shame for the spectators,`` Mears said. ``They came to see a show and didn`t get to.

``The rain delay won`t affect the speeds. They`ll just be the same on a different day. You can`t get nervous or upset about it. You might as well enjoy a day off and spend some time with your family.``

The drivers and crews planned early bedtimes, because they must repeat the whole tedious, tense process of preparing for qualifying runs Sunday.

``My eyes opened at 5:30 this morning,`` said Al Unser Jr. ``You get psyched up and get ready for a big day. Now we have to face the reality that the day is a washout and recycle for tomorrow.``

Jim Crawford, whose hot tuneup lap of 225.960 m.p.h. in a Lola Buick Friday was second only to Mears`, exuded confidence about his chances for the pole. Did the delay cause a mental problem?

``Very little,`` Crawford said with a smile. ``I`m not aware of any mind- set. I`m comfortable. This racing team is capable of anything. I`ll go as fast as I want to.``

``All of us just hope Sunday will be a nice calm day,`` Bobby Rahal said. ``I think all of us feel that the windier it gets, the better Crawford is going to be.``

Rahal, the 1986 Indy 500 winner who switched both teams and sponsors this season, said he has ``never been so happy as I have been with this car (a 1989 Kraco Lola Cosworth).

``I`ve never won the pole here, and I think I`ve got a real chance this year. I`m really keyed up. I used to get uptight, concerned about how I was going to do. But this year I`m just excited about the car. This is absolutely the finest surface I`ve ever been on, and the tires are 100 percent better.`` Mario Andretti, who won at Indy once, in 1969, said he believes practice speeds were helped by the presence of multiple cars on the track, which allowed drivers to ``draft`` in the manner of stock-car drivers.

``Today`s cars are stable enough so you can draft,`` Andretti said. ``I think that when we go out to qualify, the speeds will drop a little.